As this great chart from my pals over at the Bipartisan Policy Center shows, Rep. Paul Ryan’s Path to Prosperity budget would reduce debt as a share of GDP more than all the rest. And that actually understates the PTP’s superiority. Plug in faster growth numbers from Ryan’s tax reform plan, and debt/GDP would dip into the 50% range. Of course, a quicker transition into his Medicare premium support plan would drop debt levels even faster…
There is no question that entitlement reform must happen. Even the trustees of the Social Security Trust fund agree that if the system isn’t fixed then our budget problems will continue to mount.
Whether we raise the wage cap, increase the retirement age to keep pace with longevity, or start means-testing, something must be done. http://1.usa.gov/sBU5SU
While the Ryan plan isn’t perfect, it is the only plan that brings the discussion of entitlement reform to the forefront of politics and that is the most important thing.
While it slashes entitlement spending, it creates another 4 trillion in tax breaks for Hedge Funds and Oil company execs while it increases my taxes on earned income tax credit, child tax credit and a few more.
It also slashes military benefits for the soldiers who have been waging war for the last 10 years. Funny how the people who sent them to war now want to take away their benefits. Happens every war.